Electrical Technical Information Discussion, 1997 STS Door open message in Item Specific Cadillac Discussion; Had this issue a couple years ago, display said &quot;DOOR OPEN&quot; when shifter moved out of park. Ended up being ...

1997 STS Door open message

Had this issue a couple years ago, display said "DOOR OPEN" when shifter moved out of park. Ended up being the passenger back door latch switch. All I did was disconnect it. The "DOOR OPEN" Message popped up again this week. Trying to track down which latch was bad, I have pulled ALL door panels including drivers and disconnected wiring to the latch. Start car, move shifter from park, and there it is again, "DOOR OPEN". How would the DOOR OPEN message still come on if all wiring was disconnected? I wouldn't care so much if it was just the message, but there is an annoying chime that rings when you pull away from a stop. At this point I wouldn't even mind just cutting the wire to the BCM that would indicate the door ajar, if anyone knew where it was and which to cut. Is there any other type switch in the door? Seems like there is since the dome lights don't stay on and neither does the security light. HELP

Re: 1997 STS Door open message

Having the same issue with mine, pisses me off, each time I stop it tells me a f*(&(*(( door is open.
What a piece of shit the door panels are, can not remove them without breaking them, cheap plastic.

Re: 1997 STS Door open message

I hear that cheap plastic, my '01 Ford truck has a better way to remove/install door panels & no plastic to break! At least one tab is broken off each of the door panels on the caddy. Sorry, I never did figure out what was wrong with mine, I ended up taking it to the stealership & they came up with a whole list of things it needed for near $2k. In addition to them saying I needed a fuelpump, and intake gaskets, they said I needed new battery cables. I had them do the battery cables & gaskets, I did the fuel pump, 2nd in 166k miles not too bad I guess, but the battery cables seemed to fix my issues with the door ajar lights. May just try cleaning them at the battery, since I think you have to remove intake to get to them at the starter.

Re: 1997 STS Door open message

Kinda hard to understand your troubleshooting methodology when you change verbiage from switches to latches in your post. To me, a latch physically locks the door. A switch indicates the position of the door, since in most cases, the switches are on/off plunger types that are electrically closed when the door is shut, and electrically open when the door is open as the spring-loaded plunger opens. If your vehicle is equipped like this, disconnecting the switches will make the appear open to the vehicle, display a door ajar message and accompanying chime. Disconnecting switches is not the answer to fixing your problem. In fact, it's making it worse.

You need to install a jumper across the switch inputs to the connectors. One by one they should read shut. If one doesn't --voilla! Bad switch. Less than an hour with a multimeter and a set of jumpers ought to nail a fault like this. If not, take it in and have someone who knows what they're doing fix it for you. Disconnecting components is no way to fix things, it only masks problems. If you bypass a switch and the door isn't latched properly, and someone leans on it while you're driving . . . You get my drift. The switches are there for a reason. . .